Book of Rituals
by LiahFaile
Summary: A series of drabbles on how Shion and Emma slowly but steadily fall in love!


Hey everyone~ It's SUMMER!

I apologize for not writing much lately! But get ready for a whole _slew _of new stuff! I'm BACK!

MAGICO already finished, but it has a _really_ dear place in my heart for just being a wonderful manga. It's really quality, I recommend it to anyone looking for a fluffy romance!

* * *

It was the _beach_, sunny and windy like any perfect beach should be. The waves made rhythm clashing sounds against the sand, mingling in with the musical gusts of wind that passed through the crystalline trees.

"Waaah~~~" Emma leaned forward, eyes bright, cheeks flushed. She had never quite seen anything like it before.

Shion followed, a little less awestruck. He had not chosen to fly them all here for the gorgeous view, the bubbling hot springs surrounded by crystal minerals, or the blindingly blue sky. What he came for lay _beneath_ those sparkling waves.

Anise and Luu, however, had come for the _beach._

Already, Anise had sprawled herself out under the sun. Weren't black cats supposed to hate the sun? And Luu – the little ten year old girl was chasing around the spirits of crushed watermelons, a monster that rose from the hatred of squashed watermelons.

"We came to Jewel Lagoon to complete the MAGICO!" He growled at them huffily, but to no avail.

_MAGICO – _a series of rituals designed to destroy the Echidna shard within Emma's heart. Sometimes Shion remembered all the old legends about countries torn asunder, wars waged and blood spilled in the mighty chaos caused by the Echidna's power. And yet, gazing at the innocent girl before him, who was gazing excitedly at the waves with eyes that had seen so little of the world, Shion couldn't understand why the universe had chosen _her_ to hold one of the most destructive powers ever.

But by all that was holy, she was _beautiful_.

.

"The Ritual of the Red Pearl, was it?" Emma asked. Her words snapped his focus back into place. "They say it's a jewel located nearly 3000 feet beneath the Jewel Lagoon. The ritual involves finding this magical pearl and ingesting it."

At least, that was how he had explained it to her. Keep things simple, and usually the tasks were simple as well. However, there was something about this particular ritual that made him very, _very_ nervous.

Emma turned to him, looking concerned. "How are we going to get to a depth of 3000 meters?"

That actually wasn't the problem.

"Take this," Shion took out a small vial from his magician's robe and tossed it to her. It was shaped like a perfume bottle, with an ornate dragon's head as a cap and clear liquid inside it. "The Celestial Robe of the Sea Goddess." It would help them breathe and move underwater as freely as any underwater creature.

There was a magical buzz of a transformation, Shion looked up, and then felt like his head had been hit by a sledgehammer.

Emma was in a bikini, one that really _showed_.

_Hell_, he thought. _This is going to be one of the hardest rituals ever_.

.

Somehow they made it into the water, and the cool currents made Shion a little less dizzy. They felt like a cool wind blowing slowly. Every now and then, Emma stopped to admire a piece of coral that glowed like gemstones, and Shion had to gently tug her away.

After a while of searching, Emma suddenly asked out of nowhere: "Shion? Are there many places like this in the world?"

Surprised by the question, Shion looked at her, blushed, and then hurriedly began inspecting a row of oysters that looked promising. "Why are you asking that? Of course there are!"

Emma floated to a stop beside him, her feet barely touching the sandy bottom. They were 3000 feet down, but the sunlight from above shone completely through the clear water. Her long black hair made a halo around her head, like an angel's, but her expression was troubled.

"I must seem like a pretty clueless country bumpkin to you, right?" She laughed, a little self-conscious. "All this – " She swept a hand to indicate the underwater landscape, covered in jewels and corals, full of bright and colorful fish. "I mean, you must be used to this kind of beauty."

"No." The vehemence in his answer surprised Shion. For the first time since the beach, he looked at her completely. Emma's hands were pressed tightly against her chest. In the time they had spent together, Shion had learned some of the ways her nervousness manifested itself. Unconsciously, he reached out and tugged at her long hair in a protective gesture. _The only thing that has ever seemed truly beautiful to me was you_, he wanted to say. But something like that would be too bold, far too bold. Instead, he settled for: "Usually I'm blind to my surroundings and I don't notice when it's beautiful." In most circumstances, he was too occupied with something else, finding information, fighting enemies.

"But with you…I'm able to see how beautiful everything really is."

_You're the girl that makes me stop and admire the flowers. You're the girl that reminds me that there's more to life than destroying the Echidna. How can you manage it – holding the key to the end of the world in your heart, and yet loving the world so much?_

She was a living contradiction. Shion took Emma's hand. They exchanged shy smiles.

And so the two grew a little closer.

.

.

.

_Meanwhile_….

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Luu raced around the beach, trying to get rid of the watermelon monster in her hair. Its one eye was spinning around wildly, dizzy from all the movement. And then in one movement, Luu grabbed it from her head and smashed it to the ground.

* * *

AAAAND THAT'S IT!

It's a weird little drabble, this one - I've never written anything based so closely off of the manga before - this is actually one of the chapters, although I added a bit of stuff on my own. Maybe I'll be able to write more on this, maybe less. It's up to you guys.

PLEASE REVIEW~

:D


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